The Sight
by Sings Softly
Summary: This is the story of how Alice gained her sight as a human and how it changed the course of her life forever. All human to start with but later chapters will involve vampires. I believe this plot is truly original please take the time to read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Twilight and all of the characters within are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer and her publisher Little Brown.

*Note: Any reference to "Negroes", "Blacks", or any other term denoting African American decent is not intended as a racial slur. These terms are simply present to preserve the historical accuracy of the story. The plight of African American's in U. S. history is not a joke nor would I ever treat it as such. This is a fictional story and is not meant to promote any negative opinion or racism in general.*

*My second fic. I hope you like it! Please review if you do!*

It was the summer of 1911 and a disapproving mother stood on the back porch of her plantation house squinting into the sun. She had been calling for her two daughters and was anxious to have them clean and presentable before their father returned. Holding her hand up over her eyes like a visor she finally caught sight of them running toward her through the cotton, the older one pulling the younger along behind her. The two girls were as much alike as they were different. They both had dark hair and bright blue eyes but the older one was small and willowy, with a pixie-like face, and the younger one was tall for her age and had a soft roundness to her features.

"Mary Alice, Cynthia! Where have you been! I've been out here calling for you for twenty minutes now. Your daddy's comming home and he's not gonna like it if you two aren't clean and dressed for supper."

The younger one piped up, because she was the type to do so, always saying whatever was on her mind.

"Aw momma, we were just having fun. I think we look just fine for supper. It's not like we're having visitors or anything." She pushed a stray hair out of her eyes which left a smudge of dirt where her hand had been.

"Now look what you've done. You're filthy, both of you. Now get inside. You're going to need a bath."

The two girls obeyed, because that was the way children behaved in those days, but both had the look that they would rather be dipped in acid than in a washtub. The mother pushed them along as if she was herding two small sheep and they reluctantly made their way to the bathroom. Rapidly loosing patience the mother stripped them down roughly and began scrubbing them equally so as soon as they had climbed into the tub. When they were finally clean and dried, standing there wrapped in towels, Cynthia began chatting animatedly about what the two had been up to that day. Cynthia had a problem with knowing what to say and when to say it, so Mary Alice, being older and wiser, tried to shush her before she incriminated them, but she wasn't fast enough.

"Guess what momma, Tanna taught us a new dance today..." She was going to say more but both her sister and her mother cut her off.

"Don't stupid!" Mary Alice said slapping her hand over Cynthia's mouth.

"Tanna?" Said their mother, her eyebrows pulling together as a scowl made it's home on her lips, "I thought I told you two not to be playing down there with those little Negroes! Their not Christian! I wouldn't be surprised if you came back with some sort of spell put on you!"

She then struck them smartly across their faces. Cynthia whimpered quietly and let a few tears slip down her face, but Mary Alice just bit her lip and didn't make a sound. She hated to let her mother see that she was hurt. Tanna was her best and only friend. Her mother and father would never understand. She loved Tanna and she loved the Africans with their brightly colored clothes and whirling dances around the fire, their drums beating out deep, clear rhythms like thunder causing the blood to quicken in her veins.

"We're sorry momma," They recited in unison, though Mary Alice was not sorry at all.

When their father arrived the household seemed to be performing a delicate dance, one which even the slightest misstep could destroy. Everyone tiptoed around the father afraid to upset him even the slightest bit. The girls talked to him about their lessons and their daily routines as if reciting lines from a script and the mother spoke to him very little except to ask if he needed anything every so often.  
They all sat around the lavishly set table dressed in the best clothes money could buy, eating delicacies no ordinary person could afford and all the while feeling as though they were in the presence of a living time-bomb. The mother, Caroline, sometimes thought that she would have given up all the money in the world to have a different sort of husband. One who let the small things slip by unnoticed and enjoyed life rather than seeking only to profit from it. It was just after the maid had served their desert that the three girls learned something disconcerting from the father, something which left Mary Alice tossing and turning at night in her bed and wholly preoccupied during the day.

"How old are you getting to be, Mary Alice," He asked suddenly.

Mary Alice was startled by being addressed so abruptly. She was weary of having her father's attention solely on her, but she answered him quickly her voice slightly squeaky with fear.

"Ten. I'm ten."

"Well," he said, a hint of greed etched into his features, "Wont be long now. That Rosemond boy is about the same age as you. What a good little match we have on our hands. Maybe I should arrange a meeting for the two of you. How would you like that?"

"That would be nice daddy," she said, afraid that she had not masked her trepidation well enough. She had no interest in such a meeting and the thought of it only left a sour taste in her mouth, a retching in her stomach.

"She's only ten, Richard. You can't seriously be thinking marriage already?" Caroline asked, her voice quiet and subservient. She knew that it was best not to say anything, but she had her own fears of seeing her daughters experience the same lack of choice she had had as a young girl. Her words, however did not bring her solace. They had the undesired effect of triggering the outburst the three had feared all night.

"Damn it, Caroline!" Richard yelled, slamming his fists down on the table so that it rattled the china, "I'd marry her off tomorrow if I could! What good can come of her other than that! If you had been a decent wife and given me some boys we wouldn't have this problem now would we?! This is my business! You had best learn to hold your tongue! Now get out of my sight all of you!"

The three of them left their desert untouched and hurried out of the dining room as quickly as possible like mice fleeing from a stalking cat. The two girls climbed the stairs with Caroline behind them following more sedately and hastened to prepare for bed.

When they were both washed and changed and lying in their beds, Cynthia began to cry softly, her little whimpers barely audible but disheartening all the same.

"Don't cry," Said Caroline tucking them both into bed, "Daddy's not angry with you, he just has a lot on his mind and it makes him grumpy, that's all." She had told Cynthia, and even Mary Alice when she was younger, this lie so often that her voice fell flat and she doubted that it offered either of them any comfort at all. It certainly didn't make her feel any better.

The truth was, at least the way Mary Alice saw it, that her father was a barbarian and that none of them could ever possibly please him simply because they were female. So why bother? Her approach was much easier. She never tried to gain his favor, instead she only tried to stay out of his way and waited till the day when she would be grown and free of his tyranny.

When they were both sufficiently tucked in, their mother having kissed them both and left them alone, Mary Alice crept quietly out of bed, shushing Cynthia as she did.

"Where are you going?" Cynthia whispered, her voice seemed much louder than it was in the still, dark room.

"I'm going out," Mary Alice replied curtly, "And you better keep quiet if you know what's good for you. I'll be back before you even know it. Just go to sleep."

"Mary Alice, you'll be in trouble! We'll both be in trouble!" She spoke no louder than before but her voice was filled with such fear and desperation that Mary Alice couldn't bear it and came over to her bed to forcefully shush her, pressing a hand down hard over her mouth.

"You needn't worry sissy. You'll be in no trouble at all if you listen and do as I say. Close your eyes and when you wake in the morning I shall be in my bed as if I had never left it."

Cynthia tried to fight the tight grip of her hand at first but soon quieted and did as she was told. Her large eyes which glinted in the moonlight from the open curtain fluttered a few times then slowly and deliberately closed.

"That's a good girl," Mary Alice whispered as she calmly removed her hand.

She took one last look at her sister, to be sure that she was settled, and made her way to the window. She fussed with the latch for a moment, as it tended to stick, then slid it open as quickly and quietly as possible. As is usually the case when one is trying to be stealthy the windows assent sounded quite raucous to Mary Alice and she grew slightly nervous, her pulse thumping in her ears. When the window opening was wide enough for her to slip through, she gingerly climbed out and onto a large oak branch that lately had threatened to grow right into their bedroom.

She smiled to herself as her feet touched down on the soft earth. Tonight would be magical, as was every night she spent with Tanna. Before she knew it she was flying through the cotton, not even aware of the stitch in her side, as she raced toward her friend and all the secret wonders they would share. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Twilight and all of the characters within are the sole property of Stephanie Meyer and her publisher Little Brown.

*This chapter is a little more exciting than the first, so if you thought it started out kind of boring I hope this helps. Reviews are greatly appreciated.*

The African camp was little more than a series of small shacks set up in a loose curve. The people who lived there were all free men and women who worked for Mary Alice's father on the plantation, however in a lot of ways they were still not entitled to the true meaning of freedom. Mary Alice thought that it was grossly unfair, but there was little she could do about it. She and Tanna spent many days and nights dreaming of what life would be like if their relationship was considered acceptable. For now they would just have to meet in secret by the light of the moon.

When Mary Alice arrived Tanna was busy stoking a small fire, tossing leaves and sticks in at regular intervals. She wore a colorful scarf on her head and many necklaces made of bones, beads and other bits of this and that. Sitting on the ground to her right was a bowl of various herbs and two small, clay cups. Tanna knew that Mary Alice was there without even seeing her. She had a mysterious way of knowing things that Mary Alice could only guess at.

"You have come, my friend, and just in time too," She said crouching down to blow on her meager fire.

"Oh Tanna," Mary Alice said, "I couldn't wait to tell you. My father, he wants to give me away to some boy. What am I going to do?"

"We'll see what we can do about that. There is a spell, but it's complicated. I will ask my mother to teach me. For now there is a right I would like you to help me with, that is, if you're not too scared." Tanna said turning around to grin at Mary Alice.

Tanna's mother was teaching her Hoodoo magic, little by little, and she was always happy to try out what she had learned with Mary Alice. They had started out with just simple charms and Mary Alice was so fascinated with it that she had even taken to hiding various herbs and other unknown substances around her room to protect her from her father.

"I'm not scared!" exclaimed Mary Alice, "What does it do?"

"My mother says it will help us see, if we do it right. But we have to really believe in it or it won't work."

"See? What does that mean?" Mary Alice rarely cared what the spells they performed were for she was just eager to participate. This one sounded a little strange though. She and Tanna could see just fine, why would they need a spell for it?

"She says we will be able to see beyond what is in front of our own eyes. I'm not too sure what exactly, but we will find out, wont we?" Tanna grimaced a little as she said this, which made Mary Alice a bit nervous.

"It's not going to hurt is it?" She Mary Alice replied, her voice a little shaky.

"Only a little," Tanna said with a wink and they both laughed, "Okay, we will have to say a little chant I want you to remember it, it goes like this: Njozi, njozi hili ni lengo langu! Waje, waje! Mbeleni tutaona!"

Mary Alice struggled with the words a few times but soon she had it down. When Tanna was satisfied with her chanting she tossed a few of the herbs into the fire along with some salt and a few other things that Mary Alice couldn't identify and drew a strange symbol in the dirt around the fire. A thick orange smoke rose from the flames which startled Mary Alice. The rest of the herbs were used to make a tea. Then Tanna pulled a dagger from her hip. Mary Alice eyed the dagger nervously.

"What are you going to do with that!?" It was the first time that Mary Alice had ever been afraid of any of Tanna strange rituals.

"We both have to make a contribution."

"What kind of...contribution?"

"Just a little blood. You're not backing out are you? I can't do this alone," Tanna pleaded.

Mary Alice was starting to get a little scared. She hated the thought of having to be cut, but she couldn't let her friend down. So, she swallowed her fears and held out her hand.

"Try to make it quick," She said then shut her eyes tightly. She felt the knife slice through the flesh of her palm and let out a small cry of pain. When she opened her eyes Tanna was cutting her own hand in exactly the same way. Tanna put her cut on top of Mary Alice's then held each cup underneath and let a few drops of mixed blood fall in.

She handed one cup to Mary Alice and then held the other up to toast. Then the two of them drank down the liquid as quickly as possible. They danced around the fire then chanting softly at first then letting the sound grow until they were both practically screaming the words. At first Mary Alice was having a great time whirling around the fire, but it was not fun for very long. She began to feel hot as if she were in the fire and not just next to it. Then her ears began to ring, a high pitched squealing that blocked out all other sounds. The smoke from the fire engulfed her, choking and blinding her. She tried to scream but as hard as she tried she could not make her voice reach the air. She felt as if she were floating off the ground. She could not feel her arms and legs and soon she felt as if she was separated from her whole body. Then a thousand images like lightening flashed before her eyes. People, all different kinds of people talking and laughing and screaming and dying and doing any manner of thing you could think of. She tried to focus on each scene but as soon as she started to comprehend it a new one would emerge sending the other spinning out of her head.

Tanna had stopped chanting. She knew that something was seriously wrong with Mary Alice. She was on the ground convulsing her eyes rolling in every direction. Tanna screamed at her hoping for a response but Mary Alice either wouldn't or couldn't respond.

"Mary Alice!" She yelled her name over and over shaking her, tears streaming down her face, but nothing helped. What had she done to her friend? Finnaly she realized she could do nothing and ran as fast as she could to fetch her mother.

Tanna's father picked Mary Alice up and ran as fast as he could to her father's house. By the time they got there she had stopped shaking, but her body hung limp and she was red and burning with fever. He pounded on the door and one of the maids came to answer it. She screamed for the Richard as soon as she saw the state of his daughter. She led Tanna's father upstairs and instructed him to lay her in the bed and began applying cool cloths to her skin. Richard and Caroline were histerical when they saw Mary Alice.

"What have you done to my daughter?!" Richard yelled.

"She's ill, that's all I know. My little Tanna led me to her. She was like this when I found her." Jabari answered as calmly and politely as possible.

Meanwhile Caroline was busy tending to her daughter. She had noticed that her left hand was clenched when she turned it over she was shocked to find a huge red gash through the center of her palm.

"Richard! They've cut her!" she screamed.

He glared at Jabari as if he were nothing more than a piece of garbage.

"I want you out of my house! Now! You and that devil daughter of yours and the rest of your family are no longer welcome here! Do you understand me! Be gone!" He roared.

Jabari ran out of the house as fast as he could and never looked back. When he returned to his home Tanna and his wife were sitting quietly waiting for him to return.

"Tanna!" he said, "What have you done! We must leave now, we have nowhere to go!"

"I'm sorry father!" She cried. She was sorry. Sorry she had done this to her family, sorry she had ever tried a ritual that was too advanced for her, but most of all she was sorry that she had hurt Mary Alice and would never see her again. 


End file.
